


The Love You Take is Equal to the Love You Make

by simplyn2deep



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Family, M/M, Meet the Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-22 01:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14298174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyn2deep/pseuds/simplyn2deep
Summary: Danny Williams never expected this to be his life. He never thought he would have to travel 6,000 miles away from his friends and family to a supposed tropical paradise for a measly three days every other week with his daughter, but not being in her life wasn’t an option either.Danny also didn’t expect for Steve to come into his life and make one of his life-long dreams a reality –Nona’s in Waikiki.





	The Love You Take is Equal to the Love You Make

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 round of [Hawaii Five-0 Big Bang](http://h50bigbang.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.
> 
> This whole writing process was down to the literal 11th hour. I was editing and formatting just until 24 hours before my posting date/time. It would have been less time if I didn't have real life stuff I couldn't put off any further. And I likely would have said to heck with it and not posted if I didn't already have wonderful art to go with this story.
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful artist, [mycroft-silently-judges-you](http://mycroft-silently-judges-you.tumblr.com/)/[victoriaagrey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaAGrey/profile), for the art throughout this story

Danny Williams never expected this to be his life. Traveling 6,000 miles away from his friends and family to a supposed tropical paradise for a measly three days every other week with his daughter, but not being in her life wasn’t an option either. Not when he came from a broken home himself and knew what it was like not having a father around. Danny knew that’s what Rachel was hoping for. She told him many times over that he wasn’t fit to care for a child simply because he was a boxer and worked part-time at a corner store. But he provided for his daughter. He made sure she had everything her little heart desired.

Five years ago, Danny Williams lived with his now ex-wife, Rachel and their daughter, Grace in a seedy part of Hoboken, New Jersey. Throughout their six-year relationship, Danny worked at his Uncle Sal’s gym and part-time as a grocery clerk. He knew his marriage to Rachel was on its last leg, but he was determined to see it through to the end. Danny didn’t always want to work at the corner grocery store and he certainly didn’t always plan on working at Uncle Sal’s gym either.

Danny was, unfortunately, the victim of his youngest brother’s latest “get rich quick” scheme and lost nearly all of his and Rachel’s life savings. Rachel wasn’t pleased with that and threatened to leave, taking Grace with her, but somehow, Danny managed to convince her to stay. Rachel stayed. For three years. Then she filed for divorce and custody, re-married and moved to Hawaii, all within a 24 month period. And that was how Danny ended up in Hawaii.

Danny doesn’t know how it happened, but couldn’t imagine not being in Hawaii. Not being a part of Grace’s life, not being a part of Steve’s life, not being a part of any of his new ohana’s lives.

Living in Hawaii hadn’t been all bad for Danny. He managed to find much of the same work there as he had in New Jersey. Within a month of moving to the Island, he had two jobs that helped him make ends meet and he had a couple of friends. Kono Kalakaua and her cousin, Chin Ho Kelly.

Danny met Kono his first week living in Hawaii. He was staying in a rat-trap motel and saw her ad in the newspaper looking for a roommate. He replied, and like a smart woman, she had her cousin Chin to run a background check on him. Once it came back clear, they met at Kamekona’s shave ice stand to talk and get to know each other. The following weekend Kono met Grace; they frolicked in the ocean, and then made plans to move Danny into the house with her.

After six months in Hawaii, Danny was roped into helping Chin plan a surprise party for Kono. His only responsibility was making sure she stayed out of the house for the three hours it took to set up everything. For this, Danny wasn’t above enlisting Grace’s help. Two hours playing at the beach, thirty minutes to get a shave ice, ten minutes rinsing off the sand and sticky juice and twenty minutes going back to the house.

The party was a success. Kono and Chin introduced Danny to more of their family, and some of their other friends, including one Steve McGarrett. Apparently, he was the son of Chin’s former training officer, retired Navy SEAL and a walking advertisement for sex. Danny needed to avoid him at all costs, lest he makes a fool of himself. No matter where he turned, there was Steve. There was Steve smiling. There was Steve standing way too close to him. There was Steve smelling like the ocean and sun and a hint of something else Danny couldn’t figure out. Something he wasn’t sure he wanted to figure out

It was another three months before Danny saw Steve again. Three months he spent fantasizing about the muscles and tattoos that played peek-a-boo under the short sleeves of his too tight but not tight enough polo shirts.

Steve leaned against the wall of the grocery store. He hoped he found the right one or he was going to have to recheck his info. It wasn't that he was a stalker but Danny seemed to be worth a shot even if he thought the man had something against him. That night three months ago was a constant thought in his head. He’d never been as attracted to a man as he had Danny, but Danny seemed to always run away from him. Every time he tried to talk to him, or get him alone, he slipped away.

Danny finished totaling the order for the customer and walked with her to the entrance of the store and loaded the bags into the cart.

“Okay Mrs. Nakoni, I've added this to your account but remember your bill is due in full at the end of the month...that's in 14 days.”

Danny leaned into the hug that the elderly woman offered him and watched as she crossed the street and made sure she got safely into her house a half a block away.

Steve smiled a little as he watched Danny interact with the customer. Once the woman was gone, he cleared his throat before he approached Danny. Steve knew better than to sneak up on Danny because of the boxing he used to do – he learned that from bribing Kono for information.

“Excuse me…Danny?” Steve asked.

Danny turned his gaze from the street towards the voice that said his name. The person was standing in just to the left of the setting sun, making it a bit hard for him to focus on him, so he put his hand to his eyes to shield the sun. “Yes…”

“It's Steve...from the party three months ago?” Steve clarified as he made his way to stand a few feet in front of him.

Well, of course, Danny had to remember him. The last few times Steve approached him or made an attempt to get into contact with him Danny avoided Steve like the plague.

Danny took a step back into the store when he realized who said his name “How did you find out where I work?” he asked.

Steve wasn’t expecting that question right off the bat and couldn’t come up with anything to say in response, other than the truth. “Kono told me,” he said. “She got tired of me asking about you and said I needed to go to the source if I wanted to know more.”

“Right,” Danny said with a nod. “You want to know more about me.”

“It’s the truth. You can ask Kono.”

Mamo, the store’s owner, noticed that Danny hadn’t returned from what should have been a 30-second event. He walked from behind the counter and saw Danny and a man talking. “Danny, it would have been nice of you to tell me you were taking a break...”

Danny looked at Mamo, “I’m not on my break.” He glanced at Steve before turning and walking back into the store.

Steve followed Danny into the store and got a better look at the manager. Instantly his face broke out into a smile. “Mamo? Is that you?”

Mamo moved to get a better look at the person and smiled when he put the voice and face together. “Little Stevie McGarrett!” the man walked to Steve and gave him a hug. “When did you get back into town?”

“About four months ago. I’ve been refurbishing my father’s house. You know Mary let it go.” Mamo nodded his head in agreement.

“Are you back for good?” Mamo asked. He wrapped his arm around Steve’s shoulder and led him further into the store.

Danny watched helplessly as his boss walked away with the guy who claimed he wanted to get to know him better.

Steve nodded his head and glanced back at Danny before being led away. “I’m here until the winds change…or I find something to keep me in place.” Steve and Mamo laughed. “Actually I stopped by to see if Danny wanted to get a drink, but I think he hates me.”

Danny sputtered and waved his hand around in an aggravated manner, “I do not know you to hate you.”

“Then you’ll get a drink with me and maybe let me get to know you?” Steve asked with a hopeful expression on his face.

“Why would someone like you want to get to know someone like me?” Danny moved to the side to let some customers walk into the store. “Plus, I can’t leave on my break. Kono stops by with my coffee from the deli down the street. And my mother told me never to talk to strangers.

Steve couldn’t get a word in edgewise as Danny apparently went off on him. He sighed but wasn’t being chased away that easily. He wanted to get to know Danny and would do whatever it took for that to happen.

“Don’t mind the haole,” Mamo said with a smile. “He’s all bluster and doesn’t mean half of what he says.” He returned to his spot behind the counter and watched over the store

Danny shot a glare towards Mamo and Steve before returning his attention back to the customer who’s asking him a question about some vegetables. Steve continued to lean against the wall behind him as he tried to decide what his next move was going to be.

A few minutes later Danny finished with the customer, helped her with her bags and walked her to the door. On the way back into the store, Danny glanced at Steve. “I don’t care if you’re friends with the boss, buy something or leave.”

“Well…,” Steve began, “if I buy something, then that means more chances for me to talk to you.” Steve walked down some of the aisles, and then went back to Danny. “What have I done that's offended you so much?”

Danny squinted his eyes as he gave Steve the once over. “Possibly nothing, but after being here nearly a year and being harassed by nearly everyone for being a haole, I learned to watch who I speak to.”

“I’ll have you know,” Steve said with a fake sniff and small smirk, “I’m one of the nicest people in this store, second to Mamo, of course.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Right. I’m sure you are. But I have work to do and Mamo doesn’t pay me to stand around talking to his friends.”

Steve gave Danny a full smile, “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind…I am a paying customer after all. I buy all my pineapples here.”

Danny made a noise in the back of his throat at the mention of pineapples and Steve’s smirk turned into a full-blown grin. He remembered Kono telling him that Danny didn’t like the fruit. In fact, she said he ranted nearly 20 minutes on the topic of pineapples and coconuts. Steve hoped he would be able to hear this rant for himself…and he was in luck. Danny pointed a finger at Steve and he was off.

“Pineapples…pineapples are an abomination!” Danny nearly yelled. “You put them on everything…hamburgers, drinks, and pizza…oh God! Don’t get me started on pineapple on pizza!”

“Pineapple on pizza is good,” Steve said in defense of the fruit. “And the fruit is good for you too.”

Danny made another noise in the back of his throat and was about to start ranting again when a bell alerted him to a new customer entering the store. He looked towards the entrance and froze. A look of terror flickered across his face before he schooled his features.

Danny moved away from Steve and made his way to the counter. The man who walked in was someone he hadn't seen in months. In fact, he was under the impression the man was still in jail for assaulting him around the time he first moved to the Islands.

Steve noticed Danny moving away from him and the expression on his face. He turned to look at who entered and gave a low growl. “Victor Hesse! What are you doing here?”

Danny tore his eyes from Victor and looked at Steve. “You know him?!”

Steve nodded his head. “He killed my father six years ago. Bought off the jury and was acquitted of the crime. Haven’t seen him since I put two bullets in him three years ago on the docks.”

Victor smirked at Steve and leered at Danny. “My two favorite people in the same place. McGarrett…I’m touched you remember me. I certainly haven’t forgotten you. Or you Daniel.” Victor’s Irish accent was like nails down a chalkboard to Danny’s ears.

Steve glanced at Danny. “How do you know him?”

“He nearly killed me when I first got here,” Danny said.

Victor gave both men a teasing smile before walking further into the store.

“Now, now…I wouldn’t call that trying to kill you,” he said to Danny. “More like…getting to know you.” His eyes flicked Steve’s way.

Danny took a fortifying breath and looked to where Mamo was. He hoped the man was already on the phone calling the police since Victor was in the store after having been banned from being able to step foot inside. Instead, he saw Mamo sitting stock still as another man pointed a gun at him and motioned for Mamo to keep quiet and put the phone down. Danny’s brow crinkled in confusion. He hadn’t seen anyone else come in with Victor.

“You know you can't be in here Victor...police said so,” Danny said. “You've been trespassed from the property and the lifetime restraining order.”

Victor shrugged his shoulders, “That’s never stopped me before. Just ask McGarrett what happened when I violated his pesky piece of paper.”

In the distance, sirens could be heard, but Victor had yet to make a move to leave the store. In fact, he continued to taunt Steve and Danny.

“I was arrested and Wo Fat was nice enough to bail me out. Been there done that. When ya gonna learn?” Victor walked towards Danny, brushing against Steve in the process.

Steve fought with his instincts of wanting to reach out and grab the man who killed his father. He was about to ask who Wo Fat was, but didn’t in favor of hoping to get more information from the typical bad guy monologue he seemed so fond of doing.

“I thought you were smart enough to know that a silly paper couldn't keep me from coming to the store.” Victor’s accent taking on more of a New York flair which was what first caught Danny’s eye and ear that night in the bar.

Danny moved further away from Victor. The last thing he wanted was to be within touching distance of the man who nearly killed him when he moved to the Islands five years ago. “So go to another store,” Danny replied. “There are at least half a dozen of them near where you live.”

Glancing at Steve, Danny could tell the man was working out what had happened between him and Victor and hope that he would do something.

Victor caught Danny’s movement, smiled and turned his attention to the other man. “Now Steve, I haven’t forgotten about you. I still owe you for Anton.”

“I’d say we were pretty square,” Steve replied. “You got my father and all but drove Mary away from me.”

Victor gave a vicious grin. “That, Stevie boy, was nothing compared to what I have planned for you…and now I guess I can add dear Danny into those plans as well.”

Steve stepped in front of Danny, effectively blocking Victor’s access to Danny. “You can leave him out of this. Whatever you have planned for, just keep it to me.”

Victor moved closer to Danny and Steve, “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? But that’s not going to work for me.”

Before Steve could reply, the sirens he previously heard in the distance became louder until they stopped in front of the store. Victor glanced over his shoulder and saw two officers get out of the cruiser that stopped in front of the store.

“Silent alarm works wonders, boys,” Mamo said as he raised his hand from his lap and placed it on the counter.

Victor motioned towards the back door with his head and the men with Mamo put their guns away and walked out the backdoor and Victor followed them. “This isn’t over, McGarrett. I’ll be seeing you and Williams around.”

Just as the officers entered the small shop, the backdoor closed with a soft thud. Danny sighed in relief and Steve turned to check on him.

“Okay?” Steve asked. Danny gave a curt nod and shook out the last bit of tension from his shoulders and arms.

“Everything okay, Mamo?” one of the officers asked. “Your silent alarm was activated.”

“Yeah. An attempted robbery by…,” Mamo looked at Steve and Danny to see which of them was going to speak.

“Victor Hesse. He and two guys went out the back door,” Steve said as he faced the officers. “Danny mentioned something about there being a permanent restraining ordered against him.”

“And he’s formally trespassed from the store,” Danny added. “There are cameras outside that might have caught where they went.”

The officers wrote down everything they were told and one moved to speak with Mamo about the video cameras Danny mentioned.

“About this Victor person…” the officer with Steve and Danny asked. “Do either of you know him?”

Both men nodded their heads and Danny slightly hesitated in giving more information, so Steve spoke up for both of them, hoping that Danny wouldn’t mind. “He killed my father six years ago and from what Danny has said, he’s tried to kill him…”

“Five years ago,” Danny added, “He tried to kill me five years ago when we dated briefly.”

Steve snapped his head to look at Danny when heard that. He thought Victor trying to kill Danny was from a store robbery gone wrong or something, not from domestic violence.

Once they were done speaking with the police officers and giving their contact information, Mamo insisted they go get something to eat. Danny tried to beg off going with Steve, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to be alone, not with Victor still out there.

“I know you’d rather be anywhere but with me,” Steve said as they walked down the street towards a nearby diner, “but thank you for joining me.”

Danny snorted some. “I guess I should be thanking you for being…persistent in your search for me and wanting to get to know me.”

Steve looked at Danny with a raised eyebrow. “You’re…welcome?”

“Don’t sound so shocked. I can be polite.” Danny said with a roll of his eyes. “So…what did you want to know about me? You must have gone through a lot of trouble to find me since I know Kono likes to play with people who want something from her.”

Steve nodded his head as he stepped to the side of a small family walking down the street so they wouldn’t have to split up. “Well, she didn’t exactly make it easy for me, that’s for sure, but I didn’t mind the challenge.”

Danny laughed some. “I can only imagine what she’s going to ask for in return for helping you out.”

“Oh, she’s already asked me,” Steve replied He couldn’t help but smile when he remembered the demand that Kono made of him before she gave him the last bit of information that finally helped Steve find Danny. “But I don’t mind. I probably still owe her for all that she’s done for me over the years.”

Danny turned and looked at Steve with a raised eyebrow. He knew there was a story there, but from the way Steve was looking away from him with a small smile on his lips, he knew there was a story there.

“Do I want to know what has you smiling like that?” Danny asked.

Steve grinned more and pulled opened the door to the diner and shook his head. “You’ll probably find out soon enough, but it won’t be from me.”

Danny walked through the door, gently brushing against Steve as he made his way to his usual booth. Steve moved to follow and bit his lip as he watched Danny walk by him.

“So…,” Danny began when Steve joined him at the booth. “Now that you’re here, ask away. Get to know me.”

Steve blinked. “Okay. Right to the point then; I thought we would have to have some awkward small talk about the weather and the like before I muddled my way to asking what I wanted to know.”

Danny grinned. “Of course. My time is precious and my break is only 30 minutes.”

“I think that's enough for me to plead my case,” He let out a soft chuckle, his eyes twinkled a bit as he did.

Danny found himself being almost lost in Steve’s eyes and he looked away under the guise of motioning for a server to take their drink order. “I've been known to be a pretty hard judge, so you might want to start now.”

Steve winced when he heard that he still had quite a ways to go. “Okay…right to it then.” He pulled out a menu, eyes scanning his options. “Kono told me that you were in the process of opening a restaurant before you moved out here,” Steve glanced at Danny and noticed the man was looking back at him, so he continued on, “what made you want to do that?”

“Long boring story about that,” Danny replied, “but it boils down to an injury preventing me from becoming a cop or firefighter like my pops so I fell back on what I loved doing – cooking.”

When the server arrived to take their drink orders, they squabbled a bit over what to get, before Steve managed to talk Danny into getting some monstrous blue drink decked with a slice of pineapple.

Leila, their server, laughed as she went to place their drink order and give them time to decide what they wanted to eat. She knew Danny’s order from the times he’s come in to eat in the past, but she had a feeling that his new companion would get him to order something different and it would result in a lot of arguing.

Getting back to their conversation, Steve looked at Danny and asked, “Do you plan on fulfilling that restaurant dream out here?”

Danny shrugged. He thought about it, but his finances weren’t in the right spot to be able to do that. “I don’t know. Everything is much more expensive here than back in Jersey…and let me tell you, Jersey wasn’t the least inexpensive place either.”

From the look on Danny’s face, Steve could tell that he really wanted to have the restaurant and filed that away for later. He knew that if he could keep seeing Danny, he’d be able to talk the man into following through with his dream.

All too soon, Leila returned with their drink orders and took their meal order. Both men ordered the garlic shrimp special and laughed when Leila commented on that. “I’m not that easy McGarrett,” Danny replied with a snort. Steve was caught off guard by the comment, but after a second of stunned silence, he gave a full-bodied laugh.

Leila shook her head and told them she’d be back with their order shortly as it had been placed with their drink orders.

“Why me?” Danny had asked during a lull in their conservation.

Their food had arrived and they spent a few minutes eating and poking fun at each other over how they ate shrimp. Of course, both of them insisted their way was the correct way and it set them off arguing, but it was already tinged with fondness.

“You're the only one who seemed real,” Steve replied. At Danny’s confused look, he continued speaking. “At the party? Even though it seemed like you were trying to avoid me, the few times I got within hearing distance of your conversations, you were passionate about what you were talking about.”

“That’s a first,” Danny cut in. “Passionate about what I was talking about. Usually, I’m called at hotheaded haole. So I’ll take passionate over that. Thanks.”

Steve picked up his drink and took a sip to hide his grin. “Yes. Passionate,” he reiterated once he put his drink down. “I can already tell we’re going to butt heads so many times, but that’s okay. That’s fun.”

“You’re sounding pretty good of yourself there, McGarrett,” Danny mumbled.

“Well, let’s just say this lunch has given me a boost in my confidence that things will continue to go well.”

Putting his fork down, Danny gave Steve his attention. “Why is that?”

“We’ve been here nearly an hour and a half and Mamo’s just texted me to tell you to take the rest of the day off. He called Michael to come earlier.” Steve placed his phone on the table and slid it towards Danny so he could read it.

Danny reached for the offered phone and blushed some. Mamo told Steve more than what Steve relayed to him and Steve didn’t seem to have a problem with sharing the rest of the message.

Clearing his throat, Danny glanced at Steve who had a smirk firmly on his lips. “Well, it seems as though I have the rest of the day off.” To that, Steve nodded his head. “And we are having such a nice conversation…” again, Steve nodded his head, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to continue this – …”

“Only if you want to,” Steve quickly added. “I don’t want to come across as pushy. And not meeting any of your standards to keep talking to me.”

Danny snorted, hiding a smirk behind his drink. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to, McGarrett. So far you’re meeting some standards…” Danny looked Steve up and down, a smirk on his lips, "might be other standards that you meet, but I'm still trying to figure those out..."

Steve kept his eyes on Danny as the man clearly checked him out. "Be sure to let me know when you've figured it out."

"You can count on that," Danny replied. He sat up in his seat some, "But I've talked enough about myself and silly dreams. Tell me something about yourself."

Picking up his glass and taking a sip of his drink, Steve asked, "What would you like to know?"

"Anything you feel comfortable telling me...," he said with a shrug.

"Kono and Chin have probably told you a bunch about me already. Born and raised here on the Islands until I was a teenager and went to military school on the mainland. The Navy and the SEALs have been my life since then." Steve offered. "I spent a couple of summers with a friend's family in Coronado. They had a seafood restaurant and I got roped into working the kitchen when he let it slip how well I could handle a knife."

Danny nodded along. True enough, Kono and Chin had told him a lot of that, but he didn't know about working the kitchen part. "So you know you're way around the kitchen," Danny commented. "Looks like we have some things in common after all."

"Told you all you had to was give me a chance. I'm not such a bad guy then huh?" Steve cheekily asked.

They grinned at each other and went back to eating. They finished their drinks and food and had begun to debate the merits of certain desserts when Steve got a series of text messages and then a phone call. From the tinny voice, Danny could tell that whoever was calling was frantic and nodded his head in understanding when Steve got up to speak to the person.

It was nearly 15 minutes later before Steve returned. In that time, Danny had ordered them both a small piece of cake, to go, and was settling up the check.

"I'm so sorry about that Danny," Steve replied when he returned. He looked a little shocked and the fun expression in his eyes was gone.

"It sounded important," Danny casually commented.

Steve nodded his head and hesitated sitting back down. He saw that Danny had ordered them desserts and was touched, but his mind was still on the call he just finished. "It was my sister. She lives on the mainland with our Aunt and something's come up."

Danny nodded his head. "Big brother duties. I get that."

"Yeah," Steve replied quietly. "Thing is, I was working up the courage to ask you something and now it doesn't seem fair to do that."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Why is that?"

"Because I don't know when I'll be able to see you again and I don't want you to think I'm stringing you along or something," Steve gave a small sad smile.

Danny matched his smile as he reached to pat Steve's hand where it rested on the table. "Well, you know where to find me when you're back?"

Steve nodded his head and turned his hand over to lightly squeeze Danny's hand in thanks. "Before we part ways, can I walk you back to Mamo's?" He would have offered to walk Danny to his house, but he didn't know how far the man lived from the store he worked at, and he really needed to call his sister back.

Danny nodded his head and stood up. "Sure. Maybe we can exchange numbers and keep in touch while you’re gone?”

Steve gave Danny a hint of a grin as he picked up the dessert boxes. "I’d like that, Danny."

Steve was gone for nearly two months but he continued to be in contact with Danny. When they parted ways at Mamo's store, they exchanged numbers and spoke about keeping in touch while Steve was away. There were text messages. Lots and lots them. Danny learned that the reason that Steve had to leave so quickly like he did was that Deb, the aunt who raised Mary, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and Mary was rightfully freaking out about it. Steve was also worried, but he confided in Danny that if showed that he was also freaking out like Mary, that wouldn't do any of them any good.

The second month of Steve being away consisted of Danny spending a lot of time with his daughter, Grace, and even checking in on Steve's house while he was away. Danny chided Steve for having such lax security for an older house to which Steve reminded him that no one would be stupid enough to break into the house of a former cop, even if said cop was now dead, that lived in by a Navy SEAL.

"I was able to break in," Danny joked. It was one of the rare actual phone calls instead of texting that had taken to doing.

“Is it really breaking in if I told you where the hide a key was?” Steve asked with a laugh, “And that I know for a fact that you’ve been by the house one a day when you had Grace because my security company called when you put the wrong code in…twice…”

Danny blushed and was grateful they weren’t video chatting or having the conversation in person. “Be that as it may,” Danny said with a sniff, “your security still sucks.”

“Well, when I return, you can help me with that.” Steve replied.

“And when is that going to be?” Danny asked. “Grace has been anxious to meet you after she saw your beach.”

Steve laughed. “I’ll be back in a few more weeks. Mary and I convinced Deb to try the chemo plan her oncologist suggested and if she’s still doing well, we’re going to get her to come to Hawaii for a few weeks.”

“That’s really good, Steve!” Danny said enthusiastically. “So that means the doctors caught it early enough that the treatment might work?”

“They said 60 percent chance and that’s better than 100 percent of her dying without any treatment.”

“I’m really glad,” Danny repeated. Steve yawned and Danny chuckled, “It’s late there, so I’ll let you go.”

“Thanks, Danny,” Steve replied softly. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Danny hummed in agreement and ended the call.

A few days before Steve was to return, Danny initiated a video call with him. After almost three months of talking on the phone and texting, Danny was thoroughly missing Steve’s face. It took a few rings, and Danny was about to end the call, when call connected and a sweaty Steve appeared on the small screen of Danny’s phone.

“Heey…,” Danny said. He hoped his voice didn’t squeak as much as it sounded like it did in his head. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Nah, Danno…,” Steve grinned.

“What have I told you about that?” Danny grumped. “Just because you heard Grace call me that doesn’t mean you have permission to use it.”

“I don’t know…,” Steve replied with a cheeky grin. “I’ve been calling you that for weeks now, and this is the first you’ve said anything about it…”

“It’s probably like the fourth or fifth time,” Danny retorted.

“I stand corrected, Danno,” Steve said, grin still firmly in place. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this video call?”

“Just checking in,” Danny commented. “I know you said you were doing okay, but I wanted to be sure and see for myself.”

“I’m touched, Danny,” Steve said sincerely. “I’m doing great. So are Deb and Mary.”

“That’s good. Ready to come back in a couple of days?”

Steve nodded his head and took a drink from a bottle of water that was sitting on the counter. “Almost packed. I shipped a bunch of stuff last week, and it should be arriving to my house tomorrow. Can you swing by the house around two or three in the afternoon…if you aren’t working that is?”

“I can do that. Working the night shift this week so I’ll also be able to get you from the airport when you get back to town.”

“You don’t have to,” Steve said with a smile.

“I might have ulterior motives as I was thinking about that thing we talked about before you left…,”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Really now? What thing is that?”

“The restaurant…” Danny replied with a small smile.

In fact, Danny had been thinking about the restaurant a lot since he first mentioned it to Steve. It hadn’t come up in any of their other conversations, but Danny did call his parents to talk with them about it as well as his Uncle Vito who had some experience in opening them.

**3 MONTHS LATER**

In the three months that Steve’s been back to Hawaii, he and Danny have spent a lot of time together. Mostly talking about the kind of restaurant that Danny wants to open, but they also get to know each other on a personal level.

There were lots of home cooked meals at each other their houses, with Danny and Steve switching off each week as Steve’s schedule allowed.

_“All I’m saying,” Danny began as he took a sip of red wine, “is that I don’t know if I can consider this particular meal home cooked, exactly.”_

_Steve laughed. “I know it’s not up to par with that awesome shrimp and lobster ravioli you made a couple weeks ago,” Danny held up his glass in agreement and grinned, “But this…you’re going to love this steak.”_

_Danny moved his chair back from the table and with his glass still in hand, walked to where Steve was standing in front of the grill with a pan of marinated steaks. “If it’s anything like the pan seared ahi tuna you first made me, I know I’ll love it.”_

_Steve flashed Danny a big grin as he leaned over to place a quick kiss on his lips._

That was the first of many kisses for them. They’d only been dating for about a month when it happened, but after that, it was like they couldn’t help stop themselves from doing it. Or break the habit of almost burning their meals when they got too carried away.

_Smoke quickly filled Danny’s kitchen and a pop of the pan he was using caused him and Steve to jump apart. Steve rushed to the window and pushed it open while Danny turned off the burner and placed the now ruined pan in the sink._

_“You owe me McGarrett!” Danny exclaimed. “I’ve had that pan for a long time and the first time it’s around you it gets ruined.”_

_Steve laughed some as he went back to Danny. “I’m sorry Danno. I shouldn’t have distracted you with my…everything…while you were cooking.”_

_Danny huffed and nudged Steve away. “Yes. Your everything is very distracting. Now, what are we going to do for dinner?”_

_“Try again?” Steve offered. “We’ve got all night, don’t we?”_

Steve took Danny hiking along part of the Ko’olau Range that he did with his father.

_When Steve deemed they were at just the right spot; he stopped and looked at Danny. “What do you think?” he asked. “My father and I used to come up here a lot when I was younger and he had the free time.”_

_Danny looked around. The view was definitely beautiful, and the hike wasn’t as bad as his complaining might have made it seem._

_When Danny didn’t respond right away, Steve moved closer to him, worried that the man didn’t like it. “Danny?”_

_Danny looked Steve direction and smiled. “This place is beautiful. It doesn’t do the pictured you showed me earlier any justice.”_

_Steve pulled Danny into a hug. “I know this wasn’t what you had in mind when you told me to pick our next date, but I wanted to share this with you.”_

_“Thanks for talking me into coming,” Danny replied. “I don’t know if Grace is up to a hike like this just yet, but I think she’d enjoy it when she gets older.”_

_That made Steve grin more and hug Danny a bit tighter. “What do you say we break out those sandwiches I made for lunch and then we’ll head back down?”_

_“Sounds great,” Danny replied as they pulled apart. “The chicken salad you raved about better be worth it, too.”_

Over drinks, while waiting for Chin and Kono at Side Street Inn, it’s Danny who brings up the restaurant.

_“My Uncle Vito thought I was joking when I told him about it.” Danny says. He trying to nonchalant, but Steve can pick up the hint of annoyance in his voice. “I improved the plan I first started when I wanted to open a restaurant in Jersey and told him all about it.”_

_“So he laughed?” Steve asked._

_Danny shook his head. “Not outright, but told me I’d be better off buying an Italian place and working that instead of making something from scratch. He definitely didn’t like that I was going to Nona’s recipes.”_

_“So you prove him wrong,” Steve replied. “You’ve made me a few of your grandmother’s dishes and I love them.”_

_“You have to say you do if you want any more sex from me,” Danny grumbled and Steve laughed._

_“But I’ve told you the times when the stuff you tried to tweak of hers didn’t exactly work out,” Steve added. “Everyone’s gonna tell you-you're gonna fail, but Gracie and I…we’ll always have your back and know that you can do this if you really want to.”_

Then Danny decided it was time for Steve and Grace to meet. Danny had been splitting his time pretty successfully between his little bungalow house when he had Grace and being with Steve when his boyfriend was home but now that they were getting more serious, Danny wanted his daughter and boyfriend to meet.

_Steve thought it would be better if the introductions were done someplace the little girl was familiar with, so that was how he ended up at Danny’s house making a meal on his meal night._

_“You sure going out of your way to impress my 10-year-old daughter...,” Danny commented as he watched Steve put the finishing touches on the food he was making._

_Steve made a non-committal noise and continued working. “I just want her to like me,” Steve replied. I know you told her about me and obviously I know about her…but…,” Steve just shrugs some._

_Danny grins and steps closer to Steve to wrap him in a hug. “You’re cute, you know.”_

_Before Steve could reply, the doorbell rang. He froze for a second and his heart beat a bit faster in his chest._

_“Relax,” Danny said giving his boyfriend a squeeze. “It’s just Grace.” Danny didn’t move away until he felt Steve’s heart begin to slow to its normal speed._

_The doorbell rang again in a rapid succession meaning Rachel was getting annoyed at being kept waiting at the front door._

_“You should get that,” Steve said. “That’s probably your ex-wife getting annoyed.”_

_Danny huffed out a laugh. “Are you sure you’ve never met her?” he pulled away and fixed his shirt as he walked to the front of the house to answer the door._

_Steve went back to the food he was cooking. He decided on something fast and kid-friendly, but also tasty. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and cheesy home fries. For dessert, the homemade ice cream that Danny had made the night before._

_From the kitchen, Steve could hear Danny talking with his daughter and then the strained politeness as he spoke with his ex-wife. He snorted and shook his head. He’d only heard stories of the woman and she sounded like a piece of work. Steve was not looking forward to meeting her._

_All too soon, the front door closed and Steve heard footsteps walking towards the kitchen._

_“Hey, Monkey,” Danny said as he held his daughter’s hand, “Remember how I said you were going to be meeting someone special tonight?”_

_Grace nodded her head and looked up at her father. “I get to meet Steve tonight, right?” she asked._

_“Yup, he’s in the kitchen finishing up dinner right now,” Danny replied. “And he made your favorite. Cheeseburgers and fries.”_

_“Yes!” Grace cheered as they entered the kitchen._

_Steve stopped what he was doing, wiped his hands on a towel and turned around. “Hi, Grace. I’m Steve.” He walked to her, squat down to her level and held out his hand to shake hers, “It’s really nice to meet you.”_

_Grace grinned and shook Steve’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you too. Danno said you made cheeseburgers?”_

_Steve smiled and stood up. “That I did. Cheeseburgers and home fries.”_

_“Awesome!” Grace replied. She looked at her dad, “Do I have time to put my stuff away?”_

_Danny looked at Steve and then back to his daughter when Steve nodded his head. “Sure thing, Monkey.”_

_“Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes. Just toasting the buns,” Steve added._

_After that, dinner went off without a hitch. Steve charmed Grace, and Danny and they both raved about how good the burgers were. Dessert was even better. It had been ages since Steve had homemade ice cream and he knew from the previous night’s phone call with Danny, that Danny was excited to use the new machine he purchased._

_Much to Steve’s delight and Grace’s amusement, ice cream was pineapple and raspberry. Grace couldn’t stop the giggles as Danny grumbled when Steve quickly reached for the bowl of pineapple ice cream._

_“Thank you for making dinner, Steve,” Grace said as she put her now empty bowl in the sink. She had both flavors of ice cream and the red from the raspberry lightly stained her lips._

_“You’re welcome, Grace. I’m glad you liked it.” Steve replied with a smile._

_“Thank you, Danno, for the ice cream,” Grace said as she gave her father a hug. “Best dinner and dessert ever!”_

_Danny hugged his daughter back and watched as she went off to her room. She had some homework she needed to finish and she knew her routine couldn’t change just because of visitors._

_“See, you had nothing to worry about,” Danny commented as he walked to the sink to drop off his bowl._

_“Yeah, I know that now,” Steve said. “But I was still worried. Grace is important to you and I wanted her to like me.”_

_“Well, she does. And I do too.”  
_

Unexpectedly, Steve’s sister and Aunt showed up a week later when he was planning his date night with Danny. They came in a whirlwind of luggage, hugs, kisses, and shouts of surprise.

_“Betcha didn’t think Deb was well enough to travel did you,” Mary said as she pulled away from Steve’s hug so that their Aunt could give him a hug._

_Steve gave an uneasy laugh and glanced back at the kitchen where his braised short ribs were cooking for the final 20 minutes in the oven. Danny was due to arrive in the next 15 minutes so he was right on schedule with everything, but now his sister and Aunt put a kink in his plans._

_“This wasn’t what I was expecting,” Steve replied as he hugged his Aunt. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”_

_Deb gave a raspy laugh. “Where would the surprise be in that?”_

_"Why are you guys here?" Steve asked._

_"Can't a sister and Aunt visit without notice?" Mary asked. "What smells so good?"_

_"Short ribs cooking." Steve said. He looked at the clock and groaned, "I've got a date in 15 minutes."_

_"You have a date?" Mary asked with a gleam in her eye. "Who's the lucky person?"_

_"Oh Stevie, that's wonderful!" Deb said. "Is it that young man you were talking with a while back?"_

_Steve sighed. "Yes, it's Danny. Tonight is our date night and I really need to get to my ribs."_

_"Go, go!" Deb said pushing Steve in the direction of the kitchen, "Don't worry about Mary and I. We'll be okay."_

_Steve rushed to the kitchen to pull the ribs out of the oven and set the pan on the stove. Just as he was about to check on the mashed potatoes, the doorbell rang._

_"I'll get it!" Mary called out. "You keep working in the kitchen."_

_"Well hello there," Mary said, "You must be Danny."_

_Danny raised an eyebrow. "Yes. And you are?"_

_"Steve's sister, Mary. Our Aunt is resting in the living room."_

_Danny's remained standing in the door. "Oh, Steve didn't tell me we were going to have company tonight."_

_"Yeah, that's on us, we surprised him and kind of ruined your date night," Mary said. She pulled Danny into the house and closed the door. "Sorry about that, but Deb has been feeling really good the last few weeks and we wanted to take advantage of that."_

_"Oh yeah, that's great." Danny said in agreement. "Will you be joining us for dinner then?"_

_Mary glanced at the kitchen where she could hear Steve still working in the kitchen. "I don't know if we should. I don't want to further ruin you plans."_

_Danny walked towards the living room to greet Mary and Steve's aunt, "I think it would be great if you stayed. Steve and I can have our date night any time, but it's not often that he gets to see your guys."_

_Danny introduced himself to Deb and then went to see Steve in the kitchen._

_"So...your aunt and sister are joining us for dinner...," he said by way of greeting._

_Steve grimaced some, "Yeah, sorry about that. I would have let you know if I would have known myself."_

_"Don't worry about it, babe. You got to meet Grace and now I'm meeting your sister and Aunt."  
_

**3 MONTHS LATER**

There had been a lull in new meetings and surprise visits that Steve went back to thinking about Danny and his dream of opening a restaurant. They hadn’t actually talked about it, outside of the off comment when passing by empty spaces that once held a diner or burger joint, so when Steve happened upon a recently closed restaurant not too far from where Danny lives.

_"Are your eyes closed?" Steve asked for a second time. "No peeking!" he added as he led Danny down the sidewalk._

_"You know damn well I can't see anything!" Danny exclaimed. "This has to be military grade material in the blindfold, I can't see anything." Danny kept a tight hold of Steve's arm, slowly inching his way along._

_"I promised Grace that I would keep this a surprise and document the reveal for her," Steve commented._

_The surprise being the perfect spot for the restaurant that he was going to help Danny open. He found the location by accident, but immediately contacted the company selling the building. He arranged to tour the building and took a lot of pictures, making notes of what work possibly needed to be done. Once he had all of that, he looked over the notes that Danny made for his ideal property location and felt that the building on Manoa Road was the best location and it was time to show Danny._

_Once Steve finally helped Danny to the building, he briefly let go of the man’s arm to open the door._

_“Just a few more steps and we’ll be there,” Steve commented._

_“And where exactly is ‘there’?” Danny asked. “You drove me all around town, probably to confuse me, then made me put on a blindfold.”_

_“All a part of the plan,” Steve replied. He led Danny to the center of the empty room and let go of his arm. “Close your eyes and I’ll take the blindfold off._

_Steve waited until Danny told him his eyes were closed before removing the blindfold. “Okay, slowly open your eyes.”_

_Danny did as instructed, but still had to blink away the pinpricks of light until his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. “You brought me to an empty building?”_

_“No. Look around. See what the place is…,” Steve said as he moved to the side. “Imagine what it could become with a little TLC and the Williams touch…”_

_Danny squinted at Steve then walked around the room. “Okay…you brought me to an empty rest…,” Danny began, “What this place can become?” he asked as he looked back at Steve._

_Steve was leaning against the wall, holding his phone up with a grin on his face. “Yes. What this place can become. Nona’s Place…or whatever you want to call it.”_

_Danny blinked at Steve, trying to process what he was being told. “A restaurant?”_

_Steve nodded his head. “I found it a few weeks ago and contacted to selling agent for more information.” He walked to a table that was set up on the side of the room near the kitchen. “I think it’s pretty close to what you had in mind…”_

_Danny followed Steve to the table and looked at the papers he had spread out. “These are mine. When did you get them?”_

_“The other day. I needed to be sure this was the right place,”_

_Danny looked at Steve with a glare forming on his face, “You bought me a restaurant?”_

_Steve quickly stopped recording and put his phone down. “No I didn’t. I just got information about this place so that you could see that your dream is possible and that I want to help you make it a reality.”_

_“All the specs for you to look over are here,” Steve said pointing to the papers he wrote up, “And the match up, more or less, with what you had in mind. What doesn’t work can be modified so fit here or the building can be modified.” He pointed to the color-coded stickers he placed on carious pages of Danny’s Dream Restaurant notebook._

_Without speaking anymore, Danny looked back over the papers in front of him. Everything Steve said was right in front of him. The layout of the building versus what he had in mind, pictures of other parts of the restaurant that he had yet to look at and how they could work with what Danny had in mind._

_“I…don’t know what to say,” Danny commented after looking over everything._

_“Think about it,” Steve replied. “Shelby said this place has been available for a while and no one has been interested in it, so you can take your time.”_

_It didn’t take long, maybe a month of thinking about it and calling to talk to his parents about it, but Danny decided he wanted to do it. He was going to open a restaurant and like Steve told him, prove everyone wrong who said he wouldn’t succeed._

It was over cigars and golf with former Governor Sam Denning that Steve is put in touch with Adam Noshimuri. He knew the man in passing and by reputation, but he had yet to meet him. He also later found out that he’d been secretly engaged to Kono. Steve later made plans for Adam and Kono to join him and Danny for a home cooked Italian dinner the next time he was in town.

_Danny and Steve spent nearly two weeks going over what they would serve for dinner when Adam and Kono joined them. Danny was nervous. Outside of cooking for Steve and Grace, he’d never thought of doing something like this. It was too much pressure, but Steve said he would be with him all the way to help out._

_“We can start with Prosciutto wrapped bread sticks and a red wine.” Danny said as he looked over some cookbooks._

_“Volcano Red would work,” Steve said. He had a listing of wines he had on hand so that would be one less thing they had to buy._

_“If it was us, sure, but let’s break out the Italians that my brother sent me from his trip to Italy,” Danny suggested. “Plus, Italian wine should always be drank with Italian food.”_

_Steve laughed. “Okay. I can pull out a couple of bottles of the 1986 Farnito.”_

_Danny nodded his head in approval. “That would go well with baked ziti and a garden salad.”_

_“For dessert?” Steve asked._

_“We can just pick up a tiramisu. This is a lot of work as it is.”_

_“Whatever is going to be the least stressful for you,” Steve replied. “I don’t want you worrying yourself sick over making this perfect. Think of it as a double date.” Steve grinned. “Our first double date with good friends.”_

_Danny rolled his eyes but went back to making a list of what he would need to get and from where._

_“Since you invited them over for this home cooked meal, I’m using your credit card to buy the supplies.” Danny added as he made notes on his papers and mumbled about prices and freshness of ingredients._

_“Sure thing, Danno. I’ll give it to you before you leave.” Steve replied as he slid a plate of grilled chicken and mashed potatoes in front of Danny. “But first, dinner.”_

_Danny put the papers to the side and looked at the plate in front of him. “This looks good, babe. Thanks for cooking dinner.”_

_**+=+** _

_“This isn’t going to work,” Danny said for the third time. He was putting the ziti together as he supervised Steve’s work on the prosciutto wrapped breadsticks. “Kono and Adam will be here in 40 minutes and the ziti takes at least 35 minutes to bake.”_

_“Danny, don’t worry about it. We have the appetizer, then the salad and then the baked ziti. Plus, we can spend more time talking and that will make time seem like its gone faster.”_

_Danny took a deep breath as he slid his dish in the oven. “Okay, well I’m going to take a shower and change.”_

_“I’ll keep an eye on the oven,” Steve added. He picked up the open bottle of wine they’d been drinking from and poured Danny another glass. “Go take your shower and relax a bit.”_

_Danny took the glass Steve poured for him, left the kitchen and went up to Steve’s bathroom to shower and get ready. Steve finished the appetizers and placed the wrapped dish in the fridge. Checking the time, he saw that there was time for him to set the table and get himself ready as soon as Danny finished his shower._

_When the timer hit the 15 minute mark, Danny came down freshly showered and dressed. “Finished with the prosciutto?”_

_Steve nodded his head as he finished his glass of wine and placed it in the sink. “In the fridge. Can you start the coffee while I go shower and change?”_

_With a nod from Danny, Steve headed up the stairs to get ready. He took his usual 3 minute shower and changed into what Danny called his business casual attire. He and Danny were treating this as a night out, even if the meal was at his house._

_Ten minutes later, Steve was back in the kitchen. “Kono called and said they’ll be a couple minutes late. Adam’s plane was late in arriving.”_

_“That gives us enough time to make sure everything is ready to go and still hot when they arrive.” Steve said. He took the place settings to the dining room and set the table. Behind him Danny brought out the glasses and little note cards he made for each dish._

_Steve laughed and called Danny a little nerd for his cards, but dutifully set them where he was told. Just as the timer went off for the oven, the doorbell rang alerting them to Kono and Adam’s arrival._

_“I’ll get the door and you get the oven,” Steve said. He walked out of the dining room towards the front door._

_“Kono, Adam…come on in.” Steve smiled. “Danny’s just taking to food out of the oven.”_

_“It smells great!” Kono exclaimed. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”_

_“I’ve been looking forward to it as well,” Adam said as he handed Steve a bottle of wine. “I hope this goes well with dinner.”_

_Steve took their jackets and placed them on the side of the sofa then took the wine from Adam and looked it over. “This is exactly what we picked out to go with dinner,” Steve said as he led the couple to the dining room._

_Danny had placed the prosciutto wrapped breadsticks and garden salad on the table, along with the freshly open bottle of wine. “I thought we could start with this as the baked ziti needs just a bit longer.”_

_Danny joined them in sitting at the table and they started to eat. When a second timer went off, he excused himself to bring the dish out of the oven._

_After a few near silent minutes of eating, Kono moaned and then laughed some. “Danny, this is amazing!”_

_“And the prosciutto was perfect too,” Adam added in agreement._

_Steve and Danny looked at each other and grinned. “Just wait until dessert,” Danny commented._

_“There’s tiramisu from Elvin’s Bakery,” Steve finished.  
_

After Danny blew Adam and Kono away with a three-course Italian meal, talk turned to the restaurant and what Danny had in mind. Adam asked how much involvement would be needed on his part and Danny was quick to give the man an out knowing how busy he was with his other businesses. Adam assured him that he was mainly behind the scenes with his other ventures and this would be no different, if he wanted the help.

Danny and Steve silently communicated with each other and Adam added that he would be a silent partner in their venture, putting up eighty-five percent of the needed funds for them to get things off the ground.

But it was while playing around on social media that Steve found Lou and Renee Grover. Their weekly wine videos on Instagram were very engaging and helped with future meal pairings when it was his turn to make dinner for Danny and himself.

_“I emailed Lou Grover,” Steve began as he watched Grace run around the beach with his dog, Eddie._

_“The guy you found on social media?” Danny asked._

_“Yeah. Found his page on Instagram, then found his YouTube page and website.” Steve replied._

_“Okay…did you get a response from him?” Danny asked._

_“Form reply, then a second email with an invite for the two of us to join a small seminar he and his wife are hosting.”_

_That got Danny’s attention. “Really?” he asked as he looked at Steve. “Personal invite?”_

_Steve nodded his head and smiled. “Personal invite and note asking if we would be interested in speaking with Lou and Renee personally.”_

_“Oh. Crap.” Danny said. He was surprised Steve’s message got as far as it had. “No one’s gotten that with just an email, let alone on the first try.”  
_

Danny and Steve attended the seminar with Lou and Renee Grover and they were blown away by their enthusiasm and love for helping first time restaurateurs. Danny had thoroughly researched the couple when Steve first told him about them. They were legit and had helped many now success restaurateurs get their start, so the fact that they wanted to personally help him and Steve meant a lot. 

Over drinks with Adam, Danny is told that he should contact a man by the name of Toast for help with marketing. Danny could tell that Adam was selling the man hard because of the nickname he went by, but when Danny reached out to the ‘tech genius’, he was cautiously optimistic that he would be able to help.

_”Danny Williams?” a voice called out, “Toast will see you now.”_

_Danny refrained from laughing at the name. In fact, he didn’t know how the receptionist didn’t laugh every time she had to say that. He followed the receptionist towards some double doors that led into a large office._

_“Toast will be right in.” She said she turned to leave._

_“Thank you,” Danny quickly said to the departing lady. He walked to one of the chairs at the table in the center of the room._

_From a side door, another man walked in the room. “You must be Danny Williams,” he said. “Adam Charles, but you can call me Toast…or Adam if you’d like. Not everyone likes calling me Toast.”_

_“Nice to meet you Toast. Yes, I’m Danny Williams. I’ve had a hard time even thinking about calling you Toast without laughing.”_

_Toast laughed and sat at the table. “Happens a lot, but it works in loosening things up. So how can I help you?”_

_“You came highly recommended by Adam Noshimuri.”Danny said. “He said you were the best when it came to marketing.”_

_Toast nodded his head, “Ahh, yes. Adam, Kono and I go back some years. What kind of business do you have?”_

_Danny pulled out a tablet and opened an artist rendering of what Nona’s would look like when it was complete. “An Italian restaurant I’m opening with my partner Steve McGarrett.”_

_Toast pulled the tablet towards him and looked it over. “Mind if I get a better look at this?”_

_“Go right ahead,” Danny said. “That contains everything I thought you’d need to help with getting the word out about Nona’s.”_

_“When do you plan on opening?” Toast asked. He flipped through the contents on the tablet, nodding his head as he went._

_“Grand opening in 2 years, but we plan on hosting smaller tasters at various locations while we get a feel for what would and wouldn’t work.”_

_That’s a good idea,” Adam said. “Location of the restaurant?”_

_“Waikiki,” Danny said as he wrote down the address on a piece of paper. Toast pulled up the address and whistled. “An Italian restaurant would fit in wonderfully there.”_

_“Thanks. Steve thought so as well.”_

_“Now, you’re thinking, website, social media…eventually commercials on TV and radio,” Toast commented as he put the tablet down and opening up a laptop that was sitting on the table next to him. “You’ll also want to run ads in newspapers and magazines, but that can happen once you actually open._

_Danny and Toast worked until he was alerted to his next appointment._

_“Forward the info in the tablet to me and I’ll get to work on sample sites with sample domain names. In the mean time, work on a list of places and times for these tester events and we’ll get that out to those you want to invite.”  
_

“I think we’re set,” Danny said. He, Steve and Adam were set to sign the agreement to purchase the location where Nona’s would open. Adam said he would contact some contractors for Danny so renovation work could begin.

“Lou and Renee said they could meet with us next week,” Steve said, “Apparently they don’t trust us with the décor for this place.”

Danny laughed. “They must remember how you have your house decorated.”

Steve lightly shoved Danny, but he had a smile on his face. “They’re also going to get us set up with the books. Renee said what we have now is okay, but eventually we’re going to need something more, so why not start out with more.”

“Makes sense,” Adam said. He pulled the papers out of the printer. “Ready to sign the agreement? The lawyer we met with just emailed the revised papers. Everything has been spelled out with regards to my role in this and when repayment will being and how long repayment will last. The clause for us to revise the agreement at the five year mark as also been added.”

Adam placed the papers on the table in front of Danny and Steve. They looked it over a final time before signing it.

“Now we’re set,” Danny said once the last page of the agreement was signed.

**2 YEARS LATER**

As soon as Steve and Danny signed the papers with Adam for Adam’s help with opening Danny’s dream restaurant, Steve and Danny got to work on their individual tasks to keep things moving forward.

Within a month, contractors had already been hired by Adam to gut the empty restaurant and begin renovations. That was estimated to last close to a year. Danny worked closely with Renee and Lou to pick the right equipment for the kitchen. Steve worked with Toast for marketing Nona’s. By the six month mark, the inside of the restaurant was finished enough that the newly purchased equipment could be installed.

Along the way, Danny made sure to continue documenting things on video and pictures for Grace since she was in school and Danny didn’t want to disrupt her studies and extracurricular activities by having her to help with decorating.

Danny sorted recipes and was able to narrow down his selection from over fifty, to approximately twenty. From those twenty, Danny and Steve hosted ten pop up taste testers at different events around Honolulu. They also catered a small event for Sam Denning and a slightly larger event for Adam’s company.

Overall, they had rave reviews for the dishes Danny created and there was a lot of positive buzz according to Toast who had been monitoring their social media pages.

By the one year mark, the restaurant was completely finished. All that was left was to have the ordered furniture shipped and put in. They also were ready to interview and hire their needed staff.

+=+

The finishing touches of Nona’s had been completed just as Grace was going back to school. She was starting the 6th grade and between working on her summer reading list, she helped her dad and Steve get the restaurant just right.

They were going to have a series of soft openings for family and friends before the grand opening to see how everything was going to run and so that they could make any last minute tweaks to the menu, wine selection or employees. During a couple of the soft openings they would allow walk ins to come so that they could gauge how well the staff worked with patrons who made reservations and those walking in hoping to get a table. They also decided to host a final late night by invitation only event for Governor and other selects business owners they would be working with as a thank you.

Currently, Danny was working with Mako, the owner and chef of their favorite seafood restaurant, and Freddie, their chef, on the layout of the menus for the soft openings as well as the two, for now, menus they would have for once they opened. Steve was sitting at a table near them going over the books and occasionally would chime in with his thoughts on what trio was talking about.

“Don’t you think six menus is a lot?” Steve asked without looking up from the stack of receipts in front of him. When he didn’t get a response, he glanced up to see Danny and Freddie looking at him with blank faces and Mako laughing quietly.

“Right,” Steve said with a quick nod, “Forget I even asked. I’ll just go back to the books and increase the printing costs by a couple hundred for that.”

This time Mako let out an audible laugh as Danny replied, “Yeah, you do that McGarrett…and while you’re at it, get in touch with the wine guy. He hasn’t been returning my phone calls and I need to know when the next shipment of Sauvignon Blanc is going to arrive.”

Steve nodded his head and made a note on the note pad sitting next to him to call their wholesaler in the morning.

+=+

“What would you say if I said my sister was sending me her wayward son Eric so that I could straighten him out…and I said I was going to put him to work as one of the servers?” Danny asked as he helped Steve with the inventory.

Steve stopped what he was doing and looked at Danny. “Depends…would you have a problem if I said that a former SEAL was going to be one of our new servers…”

Danny laughed. “How about this, I’ll introduce you to Eric and you introduce me to this guy,”

“Junior Reigns,” Steve supplied.

“Junior, it is,” Danny said, “and we’ll see how they work. They we can try them out at the next event we have and if they work out, they can be a part of Nona’s.”

“That works for me.” Steve said in agreement. “Junior arrives in a week from the mainland. When does Eric get to town?”

Danny grabbed his phone to pull up the latest message from his sister, Stella. “In two weeks. He’s going to be staying with me until I think he’s not going to pull a stupid stunt and get himself arrested.”

Steve laughed at that. “You’ll have to tell me what’s gotten into him once you figure it out. Sounds like he’s going to be a handful for you.”

“What can you tell me about this baby SEAL of yours?” Danny asked.

“Honestly, only what my old CO, Joe has told me. He’s been medically discharged and wants to do something completely not related to the military or law enforcement. I said I would see what I could do.”

“That’s real nice of you babe.” Danny gave Steve a quick kiss and went back to his inventory.

+=+

By the eighth pop up taster, Danny realized they might need the help of another cook, someone with more high volume experience. He turned to Lou and Renee to see if they would know any chef’s they could potentially poach from another restaurant. Lou did them one better by offering two of his chefs at a restaurant he was planning on closing as it wasn’t doing well.

“They’re fantastic workers,” Lou said. “Been with me since the beginning of Chi’s, but the place isn’t performing as expected, so it’s time to close it up and maybe start over.”

“If you’re sure…” Danny said. “Have them come by Nona’s at the end of the week so Steve and I can talk to them.”

 

“Sure thing,” Lou said. “They are Freddie D and Tani Rey.”

Danny made a note of their names and contact information and sent a text message to Steve so that he could be at Nona’s as well to meet the potential new chefs.

+=+

“I know who we can have for entertainment,” Steve said in a rush as he walked into Danny’s house without knocking. He placed a kiss on Grace’s forehead as he passed her in the dining room where she was doing her homework.

“I didn’t know we were going to go for entertainment right away,” Danny said. He wiped his hands on a towel that was tucked into the side of his pants and looked at Steve.

“Yeah, I know…but Deb called and she’s talking about wanting to move out here…” Steve began. He peered into the pot Danny was in front of and grinned. Tonight was spaghetti night and that meant it was made with homemade pasta.

“So, she wants to move out here?” Danny asked. “What about Mary?”

“Mary will be coming too. I’ve already got her bungalow aired out and waiting for their arrival,” Steve said. “But Deb…seems she’s got a ‘friend’ by the name of Nicky Demarco who would be great for in house entertainment.”

“You’re a real pushover, you know,” Danny laughed. “We can give him a shot when he gets out here, if he doesn’t work with us, I’m sure we can find someplace who will want in house entertainment.”

“They’ll all be here in two weeks,” Steve said. “I know it’s cutting it close to opening, but we can handle it.”

Danny nodded in agreement. “Definitely. Now that we’ve got Freddie and Tani working the kitchen with me and you working with Junior and Eric on the floor, it might be time to add a bit of musical entertainment.”

“So…about opening…,” Steve began, “The menus have arrived and I’m working with Eric and Junior on memorizing them, the wines have arrived Freddie said they are exactly what was ordered and we have 50 of the 75 RSVP’s for opening night.”

“Who are we waiting on?” Danny asked.

“Your family. I don’t know if they’re going to be the last minute show ups or they’re not coming at all.” Steve said.

Danny groaned and resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. “I’ll give my mom a call and remind her again. I know Stella and Bridget will be here and Matt will also be here.”

“Good. I really can’t wait to meet them,” Steve said with a smile. “Just keep Mary and Matt away from each other.”

+=+

A week before opening night, Steve and Danny’s family descended on Hawaii. Eric had recently gotten his own apartment, so his mother, Stella, was going to staying with him while Bridget and her family would be staying in Danny’s house and Danny and Grace were with Steve. Danny parents, who waited until the absolute last minute to give their RSVP, were put in a hotel near the restaurant.

“Tell me,” Steve said as he stood behind Danny on the deck off his bedroom, “three years ago, did you ever think we’d get to this point?”

Danny laughed. “Three years ago, I thought I’d still be working at Mamo’s until Rachel decided to pull up stakes again and move to the next place that her husband wanted to move for work. Now…now I’ve got the start of my wildest dreams and it’s thanks to you.”

Steve wrapped his arms around Danny and hugged him tightly. “I’m glad I planted that seed in your head. Hell, I’m glad Mamo gave you the rest of the day off that first time I went to you at the store.”

Danny snorted. “Come on, let’s go to bed. We’ve got a long day ahead of us and five days until our grand opening.

+=+

Steve and Danny stood at the entrance to their restaurant. There was a small crowd standing in front waiting for the doors to open. These were their closest friends and family and the rest of the invited guests would be arriving an hour later.

“Friends and family,” Steve began, “Thank you for accepting the invite to the special occasion for us…for Danny.”

“For us,” Danny amended. “It means a lot that you could be here and share in this time with us. We thank you twenty people, especially, for being with us on this journey that may have only been 2 years in the making here, but for me, it’s been a long time coming.”

“Welcome,” Steve and Danny spoke at the same time, “to Nona’s in Waikiki.”

As soon as they finished speaking, the lights to the sign above the doors turned on and the group cheered. The doors opened and Danny and Steve turned to walk in with the group behind them. The two hostesses at the entrance began seating the groups in various parts of the restaurant while Danny and Steve made the rounds and greeted people.

An hour later, when the first group of diners were starting their dessert, the second group arrived. Steve was at the entrance to greet them while hostesses took them to their tables. In the back, Nicky Demarco was just starting his second set of Frank Sinatra classics and he could hear Mary and Grace trying to talk Deb into going up and singing a song for the group.

“Hey babe,” Danny said joining Steve at the entrance. “You gonna stand here all night?”

Steve turned and looked at Danny with a smile. “I doubt you’d let that happen.”

“Well come on,” Danny said with a grin, his hand sliding down Steve’s arm to interlock his fingers with Steve’s, “I think they’ve convinced Deb to sing.”

“Well I can’t miss that,” Steve replied as he followed Danny to the outdoor lounge where Nicky was set up.

As they got there, Deb was walking to the makeshift stage as the opening notes of one of her favorite songs, I Got the Sun in the Morning, began to play.

F-I-N


End file.
